"In an uncharacteristically gloomy part of Montevideo, Uruguay—where the city’s astonishing Art Deco architecture melts into a disordered, postwar litter of now-tarnished skyscrapers and empty lots—stands a nine-story structure surrounded by cranes. You wouldn’t know it from the street—opaque construction fences and a confetti of orange temporary fencing obstructs a clear view—but this structure is the heart of the nation. Or it represents it, standing for the dark weight of its history and dreams of rebirth imagined, blueprinted, but still not completed," writes Eve Fairbanks.

Only one news show could end with the host climbing into a sleigh with Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln and Alex Trebek — and that news show is The Colbert Report, which has it’s final episode last night. The finale marks the end of 9 years of Stephen Colbert’s reign as the conservative foil to Jon Stewart, a beloved anchorman to his devoted fans (The Colbert Nation), and as one of Comedy Central’s biggest hits ever.

During the course of the finale, Colbert cheated Death, became immortal, did one final segment of “The Word” on the topic of the show’s legacy, and led a celebrity-filled sing-a-long to “We’ll Meet Again” with some of his favorite guests and friends of the show (literally too many celebrities to list here).